Objective To investigate the relationship between the levels of soluble growth stimulation expressed gene 2 protein (sST2), myoglobin (Myo), interleukin-6 (IL-6) in peripheral blood and cardiac function in elderly patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF) complicated with sarcopenia.

Methods A total of 122 patients with DHF were divided into DHF complicated with sarcopenia group (60 cases) and DHF group (62 cases) according to the presence or absence of sarcopenia. In addition, 58 healthy healthy population with physical examination and 60 patients with sarcopenia alone were included in the control group and sarcopenia alone group, respectively. The levels of sST2, Myo, IL-6 and cardiac function indexesleft ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), cardiac output (CO), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), and cardiac index (CI)were measured in each group. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations between sST2, Myo, IL-6 and each cardiac function index. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of sST2, Myo, IL-6 alone and their combination in diagnosing DHF complicated with sarcopenia.

Results Compared with the control groupand the sarcopenia alone group, the levels of sST2, Myo, IL-6 and HR were increased, while LVEF, CO, SV, and CI were decreased in the DHF group and the DHF complicated with sarcopenia group (P < 0.05). Compared with the DHF group, the levels of sST2, Myo, IL-6 and HR were increased, while LVEF, CO, SV, and CI were decreased in the DHF complicated with sarcopenia group (P < 0.05). The sST2, Myo, and IL-6 were negatively correlated with LVEF, CO, SV, and CI (P < 0.001), and positively correlated with HR (P < 0.001). The sST2, Myo, IL-6, LVEF, and SV were independent influencing factors for DHF complicated with sarcopenia (P < 0.05). The area under the curve of combined detection of sST2, Myo, and IL-6 for diagnosing DHF complicated with sarcopenia was 0.936, indicating a better diagnostic efficacy than individual tests.

Conclusion The levels of sST2, Myo, and IL-6 in peripheral blood are significantly increased in elderly patients with DHF complicated with sarcopenia, and these markers are significantly correlated with cardiac function indexes. Combined detection of these three markers has a higher diagnostic efficacy for DHF complicated with sarcopenia.